“But I have written very boldly to you on some points so as to remind you again, because of the grace that was given me from God, to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles, ministering as a priest the gospel of God, so that my offering of the Gentiles may become acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit.” (Romans 15:15-16 NASB1995)
In the book of Romans, as a whole, what were some of those points about which Paul wrote very boldly to the Christians in Rome? He definitely spoke boldly on the issue of Gentile believers in Christ now being one with Jewish believers in Christ, where he made it clear that we are all one body, one people, one spiritual nation under God by faith in Jesus Christ (God the Son). For if we belong to Christ, then we are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise. For we who believe in Jesus are the Israel of God.
[Genesis 17:7-9; Genesis 18:19; John 8:18-19,38-47; Romans 2:28-29; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; Romans 9:4-8,25-28; Romans 11:1-36; 1 Corinthians 10:1-22; Galatians 3:16,26-29; Galatians 4:22-31; Ephesians 2:11-22; Ephesians 3:6; Hebrews 3:1-19; Hebrews 4:1-16; Hebrews 8:6-13;1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 2:22; Jude 1:5; Revelation 2:9; Revelation 3:9]
What else? He definitely spelled out for us what the message of the gospel entails, and it is not summarized for us in Romans 10:8-9, which is often taught out of context as “the gospel.” Here is a summary of Romans 6 which does a very good job at spelling out for us the purpose of Jesus’ death and resurrection, and what that means for us who profess faith in Christ:
By God-persuaded faith in Jesus Christ, which is not of our own doing, we are crucified with Christ in death to sin and raised with Christ to walk in newness of life in him, no longer to live as slaves to sin but as slaves to God and to his righteousness in walks of obedience to his commands. Thus, we are no longer to allow sin to reign in our mortal bodies to make us obey its desires. For if sin is what we obey, it results in death. But if obedience is what we obey, it results in sanctification and its end is eternal life with God.
Paul talked much on the necessity of us dying with Christ to sin and us now living to God and to his righteousness in holy living in walks of surrender and in obedience to God. And he taught strongly that if sin is what we practice, and not obedience to God, that we will not have eternal life with God. And he taught that one day we are all going to stand before the Lord in judgment and we will all be judged by God according to our works, by what we do and by how we live. So, if we live for sin and self, we will not inherit eternal life.
He also spent much time explaining the difference between the Old Covenant and the New Covenant, some of which many people have taken out of context and have made it say what it does not say in context. For Paul did not teach that our works no longer matter to God or that no works are required of us by God. He taught in Ephesians 2:8-10 that we are not saved by our own works, of our own doing, but that we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works which he planned that we should do.
And if you read Romans 1, wow! He makes it very clear there that if we reject him by living for the flesh, and not for God, and so we choose our sins over obedience to God, that we do not have life with God. He said we are without excuse if we choose our sins instead of submission to him as Lord. And those who choose to disobey God, and to walk in their sins, are under the wrath of God, even if they have made a verbal profession of faith in Jesus Christ. He taught the same in Romans 6:1-23 and Romans 8:1-17.
So, faith in Jesus Christ is not lip service only. We cannot just verbalize Jesus as Lord and say we believe in his bodily resurrection, and now we are saved, sanctified, and on our way to heaven, regardless of how we live. For Jesus said that not everyone who says to him, “Lord, Lord,” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one DOING the will of God the Father. And many who profess faith in Jesus will be told by him, “I never knew you. Depart from me you workers of lawlessness,” because they did not obey God’s commands.
[Matt 7:13-14,21-23; Lu 9:23-26; Jn 10:27-30; Ac 26:18; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14; Rom 12:1-2; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 1 Co 10:1-22; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; Gal 5:16-24; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:1-17; Tit 2:11-14; Heb 3:1-19; Heb 4:1-13; Heb 10:23-31; Heb 12:1-2; 1 Pet 2:24; 1 Jn 1:5-10; 1 Jn 2:3-6,15-17; 1 Jn 3:4-10]
The Prayer
Written by David Foster, Carole Bayer Sager,
Alberto Testa and Tony Renis
I pray you'll be our eyes
And watch us where we go
And help us to be wise
In times when we don't know
I pray we'll find your light
And hold it in our hearts
When the stars go out each night
Remind us where you are.
Let this be our prayer
When shadows fill our day
Lead us to a place
Guide us with your grace
To a place where we'll be safe.
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Written Very Boldly on Some Points
An Original Work / April 18, 2025
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love
